1910 and 1911 T212 Obak Collection (323 cards)

Collection of 323 assorted (259 different ) T212 Obak Cigarettes cards from 1910 and 1911. Obaks are among the most popular of all early card issues featuring players from the Pacific Coast League. While catalogued simply as T212, Obaks were actually issued over a period of three years from 1909 to 1911, and are really three sets. The 1910 and 1911 Obak sets (each of which has 175 cards), in addition to featuring players from the six PCL teams, also feature players from the four-team Northwestern League. 1) 1910 T212 Obak "175 Subjects" near-complete set (155 of the 175 cards plus 52 duplicates). The 1910 set cards are easily distinguished by the blue printing on their backs with a less ornate font than the 1909 cards. 2) 1911 T212 Obak partial set (104 of the 175 cards plus twelve duplicates). This 175-card 1911 set is the last of the three annual T212 baseball cards from Obak Cigarettes. The 1911 set cards are easily distinguished by the red printing on their backs. 50% of the cards in this collection have back damage (mostly paper loss and ink stamps on reverses); without reference to the backs 20% range from Vg to Vg-Ex, 75% range from Fair to Good, 5% slightly lesser including some trimmed. Most of the cards are bright and crisp, with vibrant colors, and with a much better appearance than suggested by their technical grades. This is a rare opportunity to acquire a very large and extremely attractive, though technically low-grade, collection of these early classics, representing exactly 74% of two complete sets (plus duplicates). Total 323 cards. Reserve $300. Estimate $500/$1,000.SOLD FOR $5,581

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